


holistay

by thunderylee



Series: love february 2021 [4]
Category: NEWS (Japan Band)
Genre: Backrubs, Canon Universe, Cuddling, M/M, stress and anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: Shige isn't allowed to work for 24 hours.
Relationships: Kato Shigeaki/Masuda Takahisa
Series: love february 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138346
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	holistay

**Author's Note:**

> love february day 4: vacation. late but no one cares but me 🙃

Shige feels naked without his laptop. It takes him a second to remember he doesn’t need to check the backseat for his laptop case—all he brought with him is a bag containing a change of clothes and some toiletries.

He’s not supposed to work. That’s the whole point of this vacation, even if he’s not really going anywhere. It’s difficult to have a staycation when one does a majority of their work from home. Massu was kind enough to offer up his place since he doesn’t have much going on aside from his regular TV appearances and updating marumaru every day.

It’s only one day, but it’s the first entire day Shige’s had off in _months_ , especially when you take into account he usually spends his free time writing. It’s gotten to the point where he can’t even relax by taking regular breaks because he’s so stressed out.

He promised his mother he’d put everything aside for twenty-four hours, to really be present and try not to think about everything he has to do. Easier said than done, he knows, but not having the temptation of his laptop should help.

Massu answers the door with a grin and Shige feels better already. There’s just something about Massu’s smile that makes everything a little bit easier. He automatically smiles back as he steps inside, switching to the guest slippers Massu keeps on hand.

“I was just about to order take out,” Massu says, thrusting a menu in Shige’s general direction. “Get whatever you want.”

“Don’t you want me to cook?” Shige teases. “I thought that was your entire motive for letting me stay here.”

“I am under strict orders not to let you do _anything_. Except, you know, take care of yourself. I’m not giving you a bath.”

Shige laughs out loud. “Strict orders from whom? My mother?”

“No. Koyama.”

Of course. Koyama couldn’t take care of Shige himself (he would _definitely_ try to bathe him) so he did the next best thing—bequeath the duty to Massu. Shige wouldn’t be surprised if Massu had a list in his phone detailing everything Shige was and was not allowed to do in the next twenty-four hours.

“Well, I’m not letting you pay for my dinner,” Shige says firmly, reaching for his wallet.

“Koyama sent me money and ordered groceries to be delivered tomorrow morning so you won’t complain about the high sodium content in take out.”

Shige rolls his eyes, but he’s still smiling. He doesn’t mind being spoiled by Koyama from a distance. No longer having a reason to protest, he picks out something that looks good on the menu and drops his bag in Massu’s spare room. It’s not a proper guest bedroom, mostly an extension of Massu’s closet, but there’s enough room for a futon and privacy.

He returns to the living room to find Massu on the phone with the take out place and plops on the couch, scrolling aimlessly through his own phone. He’s midway through a particularly interesting article about shrinking planets in a nearby galaxy when the device is lifted right out of his hand.

“Hey!”

“No phone either,” Massu says, slipping the phone into the pocket of his baggy pants. “You need to rest your eyes too.”

Shige sighs. He should have brought a book, but that’s probably on the NG list too.

“I can’t just sit here and not do anything!”

“You can turn on the TV. Listen to music. Want to watch a concert?”

“Sure.”

Massu puts on Arashi’s last Blu-Ray release and Shige tries to enjoy it without thinking of all the technicalities and behind-the-scenes work that went into it. Typically, he only watches concerts when they’re editing their own, so even just being a spectator has him scrutinizing choreography and camera angles.

Their food has barely arrived when Shige can’t take anymore. “This is stressing me out too.”

“Really?” Massu frowns as he abandons his chopsticks for the remote control. “I’ll put on some music then.”

“I’ll probably try to break down the production layers and decipher the lyrics,” Shige admits.

“Netflix?”

“I filmed two dramas back-to-back and I’m working on a stage play.”

“Anime?”

Shige pauses. “That might be okay. I haven’t ventured into animation yet.”

“You really need to learn how to separate creating art from appreciating it,” Massu tells him, and Shige just grunts. “No wonder you can’t relax.”

Shige just eats as they start Carole and Tuesday. The premise is cute enough, though Shige finds himself wondering how the main characters came to live on Mars and how it was even inhabitable enough for human life. When he voices these questions out loud, Massu just shakes his head.

“You are impossible,” is all he says. “It’s an _anime_.”

They make it another two episodes before Massu excuses himself to shower, leaving Shige alone for the first time in a few hours. Immediately, he feels that pang of uselessness that comes from having so many open projects and not working on _any_ of them right now, one of the many mental fallacies he struggles with on a day to day basis.

When Massu returns, towel-drying his hair in flannel pajamas, the bad feeling goes away. He supposes his brain deems keeping Massu company an acceptable use of his time.

“I’m going to have a beer,” Massu announces, which Shige finds odd until he goes on. “Koyama said I shouldn’t let you drink, but you’re a grown adult and I don’t see a good reason to deny you something that’s chemically designed to calm you.”

Shige sighs. “He means well, because I do get depressed when I drink too much. That’s usually only with hard liquor though, like whiskey or tequila.”

“I don’t think I have enough beer to get you drunk,” Massu says, sounding a little sad about it. “I was going to make Koyama buy me some, but that felt wrong somehow. Like I was asking for compensation for helping you. I don’t like that idea.”

“I will not at all be offended if Koyama buys you beer,” Shige tells him.

“Nah, I can buy my own.”

Shige accepts the cold can offered to him and pops the tab. He doesn’t feel very strongly one way or the other about beer, though it’s not usually his alcohol of choice. The fizzy liquid feels nice going down his throat through. After a few gulps, he finds the anime much more interesting.

“There it is,” Massu says happily, lifting his own can in a mock toast at the way Shige has slumped into the couch, boneless. “We’ll just daydrink tomorrow.”

Shige snorts and takes another sip. “That’s a bad idea.”

“Probably.”

They get most of the way through the first season before Shige can’t keep his eyes open, which is saying a lot since he usually stays up until the early hours of the morning working on one of his many creative endeavors. If there’s nothing to keep his brain engaged, it seems to get tired earlier. Something to note, he guesses.

He fumbles his way through a bath and crawls into the futon, falling right to sleep. The next thing he knows, the sun is peeking through the blinds and his lower back hurts from sleeping on his stomach. Distant noises clue to him that Massu’s already up, which has him wide awake and anxious that he slept too long before he reminds himself that Massu expects him to be lazy today. He doesn’t doubt it’s number one on Koyama’s list.

That shining smile greets him again when he stumbles into the kitchen, where Massu’s putting away groceries. The delivery must have just come. He helps himself to some coffee and notices the eggs and fruit are set aside on the counter.

“I don’t suppose you’ll let me cook breakfast,” he says after they exchange good-mornings.

“Nope. I’m gonna cook breakfast.”

“You are?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I _do_ know how to feed myself, you know.”

Shige throws his hands up in mock surrender and Massu laughs as he gets to work. It’s strange to be the one sitting at the dining table waiting to be served; Shige doesn’t remember the last time anyone else cooked for him. It’s always him doing the cooking, which he doesn’t mind at all. He didn’t get good at it so that only he can appreciate it.

Massu makes omelets and draws a smiley face on Shige’s with ketchup. It has an interesting taste, but Massu shuts him down when he asks what spices were used because apparently that’s work talk. Massu promises to tell him later when the twenty-four hours is up.

Let it never be said that Massu doesn’t take his duties very, very seriously.

After eating, Shige starts to settle in for more Carole and Tuesday, but Massu has other ideas.

“Some light exercise is okay,” Massu says as he moves the low table to the side and puts down a couple yoga mats. Shige didn’t even know Massu _owned_ yoga mats. “A walk would be best, but since it’s so cold outside we’ll just do some stretching and relaxing poses.”

There’s nothing relaxing about downward dog, but Shige supposes he should be happy that Massu’s not making him do push-ups. “Light exercise” to Massu is a regular workout for Shige, getting his heart rate up like it they were doing cardio. He can’t deny that he feels good when it’s over though, even if he winces as he sits on the couch.

“You okay?” Massu asks, watching him like a hawk. “You didn’t pull a muscle, did you?”

“No, my lower back has hurt since I woke up,” Shige admits.

“Oh. Turn to the side and I’ll massage it for you.”

Shige blinks, but does what he’s told. “Okay.”

Massu’s thumbs dig into Shige’s tailbone before it can get weird. Shige doesn’t get massages nearly as much as he should, never mind that he probably hasn’t been touched by _anyone_ in over a year. And that was only because the staff were helping him change costumes.

“Too much?” Massu asks, not that he stops applying pressure right where Shige’s muscles are aching. “You’re tensing up.”

“It’s automatic,” Shige says, struggling to speak with the way his breath gets caught in his throat. “Comes with the anxiety.”

“Well, stop it.”

Shige laughs out loud, ready to launch into a lecture about involuntary muscle tightening, but then Massu finds the right spot and he moans instead. It would be embarrassing if it didn’t feel so good, his back arching to press into Massu’s relentless force. Neither of them lets up until the tension finally disperses, sending waves of pleasure crashing over him so hard that he falls backwards against Massu’s chest.

“Cuddling costs extra,” Massu says seriously, poking Shige in the side until he squirms.

“Bill it to Koyama’s tab.”

Shige couldn’t move even if he wanted to, still catching his breath from that release. If he didn’t know any better, he would think he just had an orgasm. Massu’s backrubs are _that_ good.

His arms also feel nice as they loosely wrap around Shige’s waist, resting his chin on Shige’s shoulder to see the TV. Shige tries to focus on the anime, but he’s too distracted by Massu’s heartbeat thumping against the back of his head, slow and steady.

Gradually, his breath decreases to match it, reaching a level of relaxation Shige hasn’t felt in a long time—if ever. Right now, he’s not thinking about his three separate writing projects or how Alternate being nominated for so many awards gives him imposter syndrome. He’s not even worrying about all the missed calls and messages on his phone because the world can turn without him for one day, dammit.

For the first time since he got here, he finds himself dreading having to leave.

It’s only a little bit due to Massu’s embrace.


End file.
